When Chu Yunfan emerged from his mental space, the sudden flood of sensations was overwhelming. His skin prickled; his eyes felt strained; his ears were buzzing with noise; his thoughts felt loud. However, his brain quickly began to adapt to his now-foreign senses.
He looked around at the throngs of people surrounding him. Nobody seemed to have noticed anything wrong.
That's strange. I thought someone would notice me standing perfectly still for twenty minutes.
"That's because time moves much faster inside your mental space."
Yunfan stiffened, suppressing an unmanly scream. An incredibly smug Alchemy Emperor floated upside down next to his face, his body slightly transparent.
"You didn't tell me you could materialize in the physical world!" Yunfan whisper-shouted.
"Technically, I can't. This is still happening in your mind; only you can see me."
Yunfan glared at the ghostly apparition. "I'm going to hit you again."
Somehow, he knew that Gao Hongzhi was behind him. He could've sworn that they had separated ten minutes ago.
"Are you talking to yourself? You shouldn't foget to take your medication," he heard a teasing voice over his shoulder.
Chu Yunfan turned around to see Gao Hongzhi.
"Get lost," he grumbled, shrugging off the uncanny feeling. How did I know he was there?
"Let's go, there wasn't anything very interesting."
"What did you expect? Priceless treasures?"
Gao Hongzhi shrugged as they settled into a comfortable pace. At the school gate, Gao Hongzhi waved as he got into a sleek flying car. Meanwhile, Chu Yunfan had to walk to the bus station and take public transit back home.
While many people had owned flying cars in the Common Era, their manufacture had become far more complicated due to the interference from energy of heaven and earth. Invariably, the price had drastically shot upwards. Thus, public transit had become far more advanced and widespread.
The Alchemy Emperor marveled at the technological wonders during the whole trip, relentlessly asking questions until Yunfan got tired and just told him to shut up.
Within five minutes, he had arrived at his neighborhood that was an entire district away from school. He lived in a gated neighborhood with a fenced-off perimeter and security cameras. He exchanged greetings with the watchman as he entered, before making his way back home.
Although these living conditions were what the Common Era's upper-middle class enjoyed, nowadays even lower-middle class people lived in these neighborhoods. The upper class enjoyed far more luxurious holdings and services. Some particularly wealthy citizens could live in areas with high External Energy, or energy of heaven and earth, which was said to assist in smoother cultivation.
After scanning his citizen card and his fingerprint, he unlocked the door and entered the house.
"Dad! Sis! I'm home!"
"Dad's still working; he'll be home even later than you." His sister, Chu Qingxuan, walked over while leaning heavily on her cane. She had long dark hair that framed her round face and shining gray eyes. Although she was thirteen, she was quite small for her age and walked with a limp.
She had been born with a congenital gene defect, which caused one of her legs to be far underdeveloped and many other serious symptoms such as being severely underweight and not properly absorbing nutrients. She'd been homeschooled by an online tutor for her whole life. She was also unable to cultivate due to her physical condition, meaning that her lifespan could only be expected to reach around 80, where the average citizen could live to about 110.
The thought of his younger sister dying before him made Yunfan want to cry. However, he hid the sadness from her; nobody wanted to be pitied, much less his feisty sister.
Instead, he patted her head before throwing his book bag onto the couch and walking towards the kitchen. He could see that most of the food was already prepared.
"Oh, by the way, I've recently started doing commentaries on live-streamed martial arts battles! Now that I'm making some income from my fans, I won't be such a burden."
"How could you say that? You're not a burden to us at all!"
Chu Qinxuan gave him a skeptical look. Yunfan's heart broke and he sighed as he looked at the homemade food. "Let me set the table."
"That's a pretty difficult condition to treat," the Emperor abruptly said, floating next to Yunfan's sister. "The Blood Inheritance Pill would probably do the trick, though."
"What?"
Qingxuan gave her brother a concerned look. "Yunfan, I didn't say anything."
He ignored her for a moment, staring intensely at the Alchemy Emperor. What do you mean by that?
"Exactly what you think. I'm the Alchemy Emperor, after all; pills and medicines are my field of expertise."
How do I make the Blood Inheritance Pill?
"Many of the resources are incredibly rare. It will be expensive; from my understanding, it might cost more than a normal medical treatment from your world, unless you gather the resources yourself."
But that's not impossible, is it?
"You'd have to fight monsters that are far beyond your current capabilities. You wouldn't even be able to take on a Spirit Beast of the same cultivation level as you at your current level of prowess."
Their mental conversation was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.
"Dad!"
Both Yunfan and Qingxuan turned to greet their Dad, who swept them both into an embrace. Qingxuan giggled as her Dad's stubble pricked her cheek.
"Sorry to keep you both waiting. Let's eat dinner!"
Chu Wencheng was an average office worker with eyebags and slightly disheveled black hair. He had an incredibly nondescript appearance, just like his son. However, his love for his children was evident within his smile.
Yunfan quickly set the dining table, before everyone began eating. For some reason, the food tasted even better than usual, like he could appreciate every flavor.
"Did you know that Qingxuan has started livestream commentaries?" Chu Yunfan mentioned between mouthfuls of rice.
Chu Wencheng's eyes opened wide. He turned to his daughter with a mixture of surprise and pride. "Really?! I never thought my daughter would become an influencer!"
"I was surprised as well," Yunfan turned towards his sister. "You must have a lot of talent if they're willing to hire your despite being so young."
"Of course! As usual, I'm exceptional!" she smiled pridefully. "It's pretty fun watching the martial arts battles, and I even get paid to share my opinions!"
Both Chu Yunfan and Chu Wencheng chuckled at her antics.
"Right, speaking of martial arts," Chu Wencheng began. "Big Brother sent me an invitation today, asking us to go to Yuntian's birthday party in a month. They're also celebrating Yuntian getting into the martial arts stream."
"Why does Grandfather favor Elder Uncle and his son so much?" asked Qingxuan. "Aren't they just going to squeeze more money out of us?"
"Qingxuan! Don't say that about your elders!" Despite his words, Chu Wencheng sounded defeated. "They're still your family..."
"They're just going to brag in our faces about Yuntian getting into the martial arts stream," Chu Yunfan sighed. And that I didn't.
"I'm sure they don't mean it like that… our family has always had the short end of the stick, and Father just wants to bring honor to the family. Yuntian is gifted, so—"
"Gifted how?" Qingxuan bitterly spat. Her anger surprised Yunfan. "If you hadn't scrimped and scraped and begged to give Yuntian herbs for his conditioning and an entire Meridian Cleansing Pill, he wouldn't be half as 'gifted' as he is today. And how did Grandfather and Elder Uncle repay you for that?"
"There's a tutor from Federation University who is interested in Yuntian! If he gets into Federation University it'll be better for the whole family!"
Qingxuan stood up abruptly and left the table. Chu Wencheng sighed, before leaving his bowl and chopsticks. Yunfan ate the rest of his food alone, before wrapping up the leftovers and putting them in the fridge.
Chu Yunfan's father, at the request of Grandfather, went to the ancestral home of the main Chu Clan to beg for the Meridian Cleansing Pill, which cost ten million credits. Grandfather then gave the Pill to Yunfan's cousin, Yuntian. Combined with the other resources that they constantly gave Yuntian such as herbs for herbal baths, spiritual food, and Spirit Beast meat, his cultivation speed had long outstripped Yunfan's.
Federation University was the number one university amongst all the post-Collision Cities, and was funded by the government. Graduating from Federation University meant success in whatever field you studied. Now that a tutor from Federation University had taken to Yuntian, his future was basically guaranteed.
Chu Yunfan knew his father's plan: with Yuntian's future looking so bright, he was hoping that once Yuntian had become successful, he'd take pity on them who had supported him from the beginning and help pay for the treatment for Qingxuan. He'd sacrificed his pride and allowed Uncle and Grandfather to push him around.
Is this right?
Is this how it's supposed to be?
I can't stand living like this.
He clenched his fists. When he released his empty grip, small crescents indented his palms, but he didn't notice.
The Emperor simply stood next to him, observing Chu Yunfan out of the corner of his eye.
Yunfan retreated to the solitude of his room.
***
When the door was firmly shut behind him, he turned towards his bed where the Alchemy Emperor was sitting. "Show me how to open up the inheritance."
"Imagine the Mountain River Diagram, and say its name in the Kunlun language in your mind."
Chu Yunfan belatedly realized that he could speak, write, and understand the Kunlun language.
Seeing his confusion, the Emperor explained, "My guess is that since our souls are coexisting in the same body, they've intertwined to a certain degree. There's a certain amount of overlap between our emotional states and memories, though it's not serious and hasn't grown more serious since we met."
Yunfan nodded absently, before focusing his mind on the mental image of the scroll that he had seen before. He was fascinated by how he could see an almost perfect recreation within his mind's eye.
"What did you do to my body? My senses have been really sensitive and my mind feels clearer since I exited my mental space."
"I didn't do anything!"
Chu Yunfan raised an eyebrow, and the Alchemy Emperor wilted. But I really didn't do anything this time…
Ignoring the aggrieved Emperor, he refocused on his mental image of the Mountain River Diagram. He mentally enunciated some unfamiliar sounds, words from the Ancient Zenith civilization.
Suddenly, space seemed to unfold outwards, revealing the rolled-up tapestry. The bronze cloth was capped on both ends with a teal, mottled metal, and resembled an ancient, two meter quarterstaff. As he swung his hand, the scroll unrolled into only a portion of its full nine meter length, creating a shimmering section of rippling cloth that was shaped like a doorway.
"Come on in," the Emperor grinned, before floating into the rippling surface.
Chu Yunfan tentatively stuck his hand into the cloth, watching with wonder as his fingers disappeared inside. He took a deep breath, before stepping forwards and vanishing with a soft golden light. The scroll floated for a few seconds, before rolling up and disappearing.